Manufacturers may need to monitor and control the product quality using on-line sensors during processing of the product. An on-line sensor may be used to determine characteristics of the product texture during the processing of the product. The on-line sensor may receive a beam of light reflected off the surface of the product or transmitted through the product. The on-line sensor may then analyze the reflected or transmitted light and the original beam of light to determine qualities of the product texture. The product may be, for example, paper or a sheet of material.
The manufacturing environment may produce conditions that may affect the accuracy of the on-line sensor. For example, vibrations of components used in the processing of the product, temperature variations, and/or dust produced during processing of the product may reduce the accuracy of the on-line sensor.
In order to verify the accuracy of on-line sensors, a sample of the product may be measured in a laboratory. In a controlled laboratory environment, laboratory sensors may be used to attempt to provide a more accurate measurement of the sample. The sample is also tested using the on-line sensor. The results of the laboratory sensor are compared with the on-line sensor to identify the accuracy and/or capabilities of the on-line sensor.
However, an undesirable situation may result when the on-line sensor has higher capability than the laboratory sensor, which then may lead to poor correlation between the sensors. The results may then be interpreted as the fault of the on-line sensor. Accordingly, an efficient and effective device, method, and system are needed for providing more accurate comparisons between the true qualities of a sample texture and measured qualities of an on-line sensor. In addition, the device, system and method may need to provide a more accurate comparison between the true qualities of a sample texture, laboratory measured qualities of the sample texture and the measured qualities by an on-line sensor of the sample texture.